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Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 700 Series Putters

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The Tour Edge Wingman 705 is a small headed mallet putter.

This afternoon I hope to stop by the golf course and take a few pictures with a golf ball and a similar putter for reference and give y’all my first impressions.


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After my dentist appointment I went to the course and took the new Wingman 705 to the practice green alternating between it and my Odyssey O- Works Black #7.

The Lock-On technology is a great alignment aid. I found it very easy to line up the ball and to start the ball on my intended line.

The face insert is fairly soft, just a little firmer than the Odyssey micro hinge insert. The Tour Edge face insert produced a muted “tock” sound.

The face insert is slightly taller than the Odyssey insert.

The Wingman 705 is shorter from heel to toe and front to back than the Odyssey #7.

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After some time on the putting green I joined up with some friends on the back nine and played 5 holes.

Distance control was excellent! Had three two putts and two one putts.

Was 1 under through five playing from one set of tees forward from normal and teeing up with my C723 13 degree 3 wood.

I’m very impressed with the Tour Edge 705 putter.

The headcover is particularly nice. Very premium materials with a plush velour interior and a nice integral magnetic closure.

I agree with @willplaysgolf that the color way being different from the rest of the Exotics line up is confusing but still looks good.

When I get home will compare it with Cobra Vintage Nova 40.
 
So I had been meaning to get back in here and update the thread with yesterday's testing and performance.

This head sits really nicely behind the ball, the front edge seems to frame and square up easily and couple thisbwith the lock on technology really helps you ensure that everything is on line.

I really notice the way you can quickly make sure you're over the ball well with the lock on lines.

On the practice green this was rolling straight away and distance control was spot on. I expected the insert face to feel softer but it had a nice firm feel. Did notice off center hits had a slightly higher ting sound.

I want to change the pistol grip but will give it some more rounds first, I think this club will do well with the Garsen Max.

Took only a few decent length putts to go in the bag for the round.

In game performance was exceptional, only 1 3 putt and that was all me getting flustered after a poor hole and trying to mark shots with the Shotscope. I was on line and didn't leave myself anything less than a comfortable 2 footer or less.

Very impressed with this after 1 round. Next up will be Saturday and another test for it.
 
This morning I did a compare of the Tour Edge Wingman 705 to the Cobra vintage Nova 40.

The Vintage Nova 40 is about the same size heel to toe as the Wingman 705 but the Nova 40 is longer from front to back. The Vintage Nova 40 is smaller than the standard Odyssey #7.

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The Cobra vintage Nova 40 with the SIK face insert puts a great roll on the ball. It is slightly firmer than the Wingman 705 insert. The Tour Edge Wingman 705 also puts a great roll on the ball.

In our Men’s group today I won 1st place in our points game with +5 against my quota of 33 points. Also got low gross with 37/37 for 74 and had 4 birdies with the Wingman 705 in the bag as my only putter.

Also had a side bet with two other guys. One of whom is our Pro and beat both of them straight up. They both shot 76 today with one birdie each. We were playing $1 a hole and $1 birdies.

The Tour Edge Wingman putters are very good and I would not hesitate to recommend them if you are looking for a mallet style putter and like a putter with a medium soft face insert.
 
A small criticism of the Tour Edge Wingman 705 is that I would like for the center section to be slightly wider and deeper because it is not as easy to pick up a ball with the Wingman as it is the Odyssey #7 or the Cobra Vintage Nova putters.

Playing today in very sunny conditions I also found the satin silver finish of the Wingman to still be highly reflective with some unwanted glare. My personal preference is for an all black matte finish putter head for that reason.
 
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2nd 9 tonight with the Wingman 701. I’ve done some tinkering with a SuperStroke grip and some lead tape while I wait for the 8g weights to be delivered. Might throw in a CounterCore weight but not positive.

Had 3 1 putts and 6 2 putts tonight. Speed control could have been better but I went straight to the course. Made putts of 6, 12, and 25 feet, and missed a 5 footer I pulled because I didn’t commit to my read. Still netted out slightly positive in SG.
 
I'm still waiting for my Wingman to show up. :(
 
Wingman gets another taste of the greens in the morning, looking forward to it.

Really need to get the weight kit and potentially switch grip out for a garsen quad
 
Well I have a Wingman!

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The 706 showed up this afternoon, I'll post photos and my first impressions soon.
 
First 18 hole round today with the Wingman 701. I got the set of 8g weights yesterday and also went ahead and installed a 25g counterweight. With those tweaks speed control felt really dialed today. Had 25 putts on the day - 1 chip in, 9 1 putts, 8 2 putts. Gained 3.82 strokes vs 0 hcp. Longest putt was a 36 footer I drained for bogey 😎

Here's how the Wingman compares through 36 holes to my (previous?) gamer's stats for the year:

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For reference the 0.01 SG/putt with the Supernova is the first time I've been a scratch putter since I started doing Arccos/Shot Scope several years ago, and the Wingman is currently blowing it out of the water. Even if it's a flash in the pan it's a helluva flash in the pan...
 
Okay, so here are some photos, and my first impressions of the Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 706 Putter:

About Me:
  • Background – 65 years old, started golfing in my mid-30s, first 15 years was very off and on, with long layoffs, last 15 years has been pretty steady.

  • My Game - 16.5 handicap right now, that's pretty close to as low as it gets, it's not unusual to be in the 17s and 18s. My putting is usually fairly good, pretty consistently 2-putt, getting the ball inside two feet on longer putts, and make a good percentage at four feet or less. I’ve been using face-balanced mallet putters for a long time, but this will be my first center-shafted putter.
First Impressions:
  • Club Details – Tour Edge Exotics Wingman 706, face-balanced, 34" center-shaft, Wingman Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grip.

  • Head – The Wingman 706 is a nice looking compact mini-mallet putter. The head is noticeably smaller than my other two wing-style putters (Mizuno M-Craft VI and Toulon Las Vegas), the wings are shorter and thicker, and the face is smaller heel to toe. The white Micro-Groove face insert nearly fills the entire face, and the groove are less pronounced than I expected. The center-shaft, and the Lock-On Alignment look like they will combine to provide plenty of feedback on alignment. The Carbon Sole Plate looks great, and the matte silver stainless steel finish looks better than I expected from a cast putter.

  • Shaft – The KBS CT Tour shaft is a pretty normal looking stepless steel shaft.

  • Grip – The Tour Edge Wingman branded Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grip looks good. I’m not a huge fan of the orange/gray/silver color combo, but the grip itself is one of my favorites (I have Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grips on two other putters).

  • Head Cover – Nice head cover, dual magnetic closures for the center-shaft, looks to be really high quality, fit is a bit tight, but that should work out with some time. The branding is a bit busier than I like, but nothing I can’t live with, and otherwise it looks really good.
Photos:

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A few more photos:

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So I got the Wingman 706 out on the practice green this morning, I spent about 45 minutes rolling puts with it and three other putters, my Mizuno M-Craft VI, Toulon Las Vegas, and Cleveland HB SOFT Premier 10.5. I started out just rolling short putts with the 706, and found that the weight and balance are nice, the compact head size looks good behind the ball, and I really like the center-shaft. Sound and feel were a big change for me, as my other putters are all milled-face, and I haven't used an insert putter in a long time. The feel is very soft, and the sound is muted and somewhat dull to my old ears. The Lock-On Alignment really works, I'm not really picky about alignment markings on putters as I tend to square the face to my line using the overall head shape of the putter, if that makes sense, but the Lock-On Alignment does give immediate feedback on if my eyes are properly over the putter and the putter is properly set behind the ball. I must have ordered this one with the correct loft and lie, as the lines were almost always lined up properly at first glance, and I was getting a true roll off the face.

After initially getting the feel of the 706, I started putting it head-to-head with each of the other putters. The soft Micro-Groove face insert had a way different feel than the Mizuno and Toulon putters, but wasn't too different in feel from the Cleveland, which is the softest feeling milled-face putter I've ever had. On short putts of six feet or less I was pretty consistent with all four putters, results being about the same for all of them, just the difference in sound and feel. As the putts got longer though I started seeing what has been my past experience with insert putters, an inability to maintain good distance control. I'm sure this is something I can work out once I have more time with the 706, and it will be in my bag for tomorrow's round, but today I was feeling like I was putting the same stroke on the ball on longer putts, and one would come up way short and another would be long.

Here's a photo of all four putters, left to right, Wingman 706, Cleveland HB SOFT Premier 10.5, Toulon Las Vegas, and Mizuno M-Craft VI

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and the Wingman behind the ball (Srixon Q-Star Tour)

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Another 18 holes with the Wingman yesterday, once again the roll is really good, distance control is very easy.

More 3 putts yesterday but those were all down to me rushing putt outs from inside 2ft, not the putter.

Still not sold on the Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grip, very sure I'm going to try a Garsen Quad or Ultimate on this, don't think the Max I have will be the right fit.

The Lock On really helps with ensuring you are in the right position with your eyes and the line as @OldeDude mentions above.

Still getting used to the sound of the insert face but I cannot find much to be disappointed with in this putter.

And you can't beat the price either for something of this quality.
 
Played a full round with the Wingman 706 yesterday with mixed results. I really like the feel of this putter in hand, weight and balance are very good. The look behind the ball works for me too, the size and shape fit my eye, and the Lock-On Alignment works, although I got to where I didn't pay much attention to it because the lines were always lined up properly whenever I looked down at it. The roll off the face is really good, a smooth roll that starts right on the intended line. The only real issue for me, and it is significant, is the feel/sound/feedback of the putt itself, it's just not there for me. The sound is muted and dull, and the feel of the ball off the face is very soft, giving little feedback on how the ball was struck. This lack of feedback makes it really hard for me to judge distance. I really found it hard to tell how hard I hit the ball from a feel and sound standpoint, with putts that felt like I put the same stroke on them rolling out to very different distances. With my other putters I can tell right away that I either didn't hit the putt far enough, or gave one a bit too much, and I'm just not getting that kind of feedback from this one.

I was playing a Scramble yesterday though, and my partner always wants to putt first, so having the advantage of seeing his line helped me drain a few nice putts, but I left some short that I was sure should have gotten to the hole, and rammed a couple into the back of the cup that would have gone way past the hole had they not gone in. I'll be keeping the 706 in the bag though, hoping that I'll adjust to it enough to get a better feel for the Micro-Groove face insert, because this thing does check a lot of boxes for me.
 
First modification to the Wingman in place. I wasn't the hugest fan of the Sink Fit grip, coming from the Garsen Max woth it's rounded back I found the ridge of the Sink Fit hard to get a comfortable grip position between which joint of my fingers.

That came off yesterday and we go into club championship this weekend with the Garsen Ultimate in its place. Should be fun!

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Have come back to earth marginally with the 701 but have still been positive strokes gained in 4/5 rounds or something like that. Has a couple 3 putts this week but also made a 40 footer and a nice 20 footer from a couple yards off the green. Still feel like it’s really hard not to start the ball on the right line with the Lock-On. Playing 18 tomorrow then have 18 Sat and Sun for our club championship, so excited to see how it holds up.
 
willplaysgolf said:
Have come back to earth marginally with the 701 but have still been positive strokes gained in 4/5 rounds or something like that. Has a couple 3 putts this week but also made a 40 footer and a nice 20 footer from a couple yards off the green. Still feel like it’s really hard not to start the ball on the right line with the Lock-On. Playing 18 tomorrow then have 18 Sat and Sun for our club championship, so excited to see how it holds up.
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My regripped 703 is ready for club Champs this weekend as well.

Last 3 putts were me bring lazy with tap ins.
 
Live updates today, hole 6 done, no 3 putts to speak of and had at least 3 1 putts from outside 10ft, par saves and birdie.

Ultimate grip is a nice change from the Sink fit.
 
Greens were running faster than they have been for our club championship today. Speed control was really dialed. I'm a fence sitter when it comes to insert vs. not but I'm finding the Wingman's to be better than expected. 32 putts today on 11 GIR but no 3 putts and was still positive SG. With the Lock-On alignment I feel like I'm starting the ball on line better than I ever have. I felt like if I had adjusted to the break a little better with the faster speeds I would have made a few more.
 
The Wingman 705 that I’ve been testing has about a dozen rounds under it’s belt now.

The Lock-On alignment aid is proving to be very good. I agree with the other testers that starting the ball on the line I’ve chosen is quite easy with this putter.

Still getting used to the difference in overall weight and head weight from my previous putter.

It was very hot and humid here today so I wore rain gloves on both hands and definitely putted worse today than I have been due to the gloves contributing to a lack of feel. I normally putt with no gloves on.

The inability to scoop up a ball with the putter easily is still an annoyance. Just got so used to being able to do it with my previous putter I guess.
 
1 3 putt today, all down to a blow up hole and greens were no holding. Got scared on speed and gave up on the first leaving way to long to save bogey.

Lock on is legit, insert is still a strange place, for me it's the sound otherwise this rolls true.
 
Putter was solid again on Sunday. Had a 3 putt from long range and left a 6 footer and 12 short in the jar down the stretch, all of which I knew off the club face. Made a nice 20 footer for birdie and several other non gimmies. Biggest takeaway from the club championship is how solid it is on short putts under pressure with the Lock-On. In the past that's been a struggle of mine and rationally or irrationally has lead me to try several "alternative" putting options. I don't think I missed a putt inside 5 feet, and had several where I was nervous trying to post a score.

Here's an update on stats against previous gamer after several more rounds:

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Thinking maybe the Wingman has earned the swap to the Stability shaft that’s currently in the Supernova.
 
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